Black and green tea, along with many other foods, have long been recognized as powerful form of herbal medication. This dates back to ancient Chinese medical practices. Foods and drinks like black and green tea, chocolate, strawberries, blueberries, red wine, apples, nuts, and citrus fruits are all high in flavonoids. Flavonoids are naturally occurring metabolites that have over 5000 members of this classification. A recent study found that elderly women who ingested high levels of flavonoids were far less likely to develop excess levels of abdominal aortic calcification (AAC). Abdominal aortic calcification is a marker of cardiovascular disease and poses a risk to the long term prognosis of both men and women. Unlike many health regimes, this diet can be easily implemented into most peoples diets. While black tea was the main source of flavonoids for this particular population, people of all ages can get these helpful substances into their diet by drinking red wine or eating more citrus fruits. In addition to helping reduce the risk of AAC, flavonoids have also been acknowledged for their impressive anti-inflammatory effects and their ability too protect cells against oxidative effects. So next time you are thirsty, consider drinking some tea.
References
Parmenter, B. H., Bondonno, C. P., Murray, K., Schousboe, J. T., Croft, K., Prince, R. L., Hodgson, J. M., Bondonno, N. P., & Lewis, J. R. (2022). Higher Habitual Dietary Flavonoid Intake Associates With Less Extensive Abdominal Aortic Calcification in a Cohort of Older Women. Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology, 42(12), 1482–1494. https://doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.122.318408
Flavonoids not only are protective against AACs but also could be part of the solution to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. Lee et al. found some flavonoids that were potent antimicrobial inhibitors of a protein that initiates fatty acid synthesis in bacteria. This finding, and other similar ones, have opened a door to another way flavonoids can help improve our health and be incorporated into designed treatments.
ReplyDeleteLee J, Jeong K, Shin S, et al. (2011) Antimicrobial natural products as β-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase III inhibitors. Bioorg Med Chem 17, 5408–5413.
Great Post! Could this also be why red wines are said to improve health? The famous Mediterranean diet suggests a moderate intake of wine. Similarly, the "French Paradox" which is the observation that despite a high consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol in addition to red wine, deaths due to heart disease and other related diseases are low. Prior research done by Fernandes et al. found a correlation to the health promoting effects of red wine and the flavonoids present in the drink.
ReplyDeleteFernandes, I., Pérez-Gregorio, R., Soares, S., Mateus, N., & de Freitas, V. (2017). Wine Flavonoids in Health and Disease Prevention. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 22(2), 292. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules22020292